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Friday, August 14, 2009

Patisseries Religieuse

After much research,I wanted to share with you my observation: the French are obsessed with puffy, airy things...Firstly patisserie Religieuse- made of puff or pate chou pastry - really 2 cream puffs, one sitting on top of the other and filled with flavored pastry cream. The Religieuse got it's name from it's violet-colored icing matching the cardinal's robes. There's a long tradition of "puffy" cuisine in France. Here a soup en croute..hidden under pâte feuilletée.Plusprofiteroles, croquembouches, eclairs, beignets, eclairs, gougèresHeight seems to be a desirable thing in France.. Not to be left out of the picture, French painters love to paint these puffy creations, like Manet's "La Brioche."Manet was inspired by Chardin's "Brioche" in the LouvreAs well as what appreared on his dinner table...And where would we be without airy, bubbly, fizzy French Champagne??? Another example of the French propensity for puffery - Marie Antoinette had a very puffy hairdo... The master of puffy dresses = Christian Lacroix, French of course.Here's an exam on French pastry!You'll find out if French patisserie is Your cup of tea/votre tasse de théand if you have CHEF potential!

Bonjour! I hope you don't mind but I ran off like Burglar Bill with a couple of your photos from Gerard Mulot, as I wanted to feature his cakes on my blog but couldn't find any other nice ones online. I will take them down immediately and without the slightest bit of grumbling if that is a problem!

I scored 4 points out of 10...I'm not saying it's because I could not understand most of the choices...no, I prefer to believe I must RESEARCH closely...a la Paris Breakfasts.....if I am to improve my score...and perhaps my attitude!

I am new blogging and loving it! I think I really need to visit you for real in Paris. I have the biggest, hugest sweet tooth or teeth. Everything looks so beautiful and yummy. Actually, in San Francisco we have some great places to get great pasteries. Sweetness to you. Dogwood

I took the quiz and got a score of 6. I had to guess the answers partly from not knowing the trivia, and partly from not knowing French.Thanks for the fun link and as always, for the lovely pictures :)

je suis un chef! I got eight out of ten. But I disagree with some of the answers. For example, I learned in high school that the pastry Paris-Brest was invented by the chef on board the railroad from Paris to Brest. (This always caused great sniggers in my all-girl classroom). As for les Religieuses....Cardinals are never women, and nuns never wear purple, so I don't get the color connections, but they do look like nuns headpieces. Wish I had some now! nancy

Lovely, beautiful blog...but Nancy in Savannah was actually close to the truth...and the chef test gives further support. "Religieuse" refers to a nun, and "la robe des religieuses" refers to the traditional nun's habit/dress (frequently black, as is the frosting of many pastry "religieuses"), not to a cardinal's robe.

Paris Mail

♥carol gillott♥

l'Ile Saint Louis, Paris, Ile de France, France

Hi I'm Carol Gillott,
My Mom taught me watercolors at 5. I'm still at it, now tripping over cobblestones, living in a 6th-floor garret on l'Ile Saint-Louis, Paris. Read Parisbreakfast with a hot chocolate and croissant.
I paint Paris breakfasts.